The feminine polka dot print has been around for decades, and became increasingly popular by fashion icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Kate Moss, the ever stylish and beautiful Princess Diana, and more recently Kate Middleton as a nod to her late mother-in-law.

When we take a look at the runways and street style during fashion week, there is no question that polka dots are BACK! So now it’s time to find pieces that best suit you, in a sophisticated (non-Mini-Mouse type of way)

With it’s bold, fun and feminine undertones, polka dots are a sure way to have your style stand out and get noticed.

The modern twist on this classic print is the popular off-the-shoulder trend. We’ve seen this trend develop over the last few years, and judging from the Spring/Summer 2018 styles, it’s here to stay for at least another season, if not longer.

The key to styling such a loud print is to keep accessories minimal, and pair it with something solid if you’re not up to mixing prints. I’ve styled smaller polka dots with floral prints before and I loved it! It’s all about colours, size of the print, and even texture. You’ll find out what works and what doesn’t for your personal style!

The billowing sleeves add a touch of elegance and flair. Statement sleeves are another trend you totally need to get behind this season.

I love how fun and flirty the pairing of off-the-shoulder and a bold polka dot print is!

This top is the perfect transition into Spring, and is light-weight to bring into summer with a pair of jean shorts or a skirt.

Don’t let the cold, snowy weather stop you from feeling fabulous. Don some pearls anyway you choose, and you will feel like you can run the world (LET’S GO PEARLS!)

I’m so happy that pearls have made such a huge comeback in 2017/2018, they’re popping up everywhere (on everything!) To create this look I pulled together a few of my favourite pearl embellished items from my closet.

The great thing I love about pearls is that you can wear them and pair them with just about anything, not to mention, they add elegance to any look!

The moment I laid eyes on this dress I knew I had to have it! This stunner provides the ultimate POP of pink! After seeing it come up online on Banana Republic, I noticed it becoming increasingly popular among bloggers on Instagram. I waited a bit to purchase it, and I’m glad I did because I ended scoring it for more than half off the original price!

I’m such a huge fan of bold prints and bright colours so this dress fits in perfectly to my existing wardrobe. I kept the rest of the outfit simple by adding a camel coloured trend, nude pumps, a silver mini bag and silver watch and brooch.

I was so fortunate to be selected to attend the”Trendsetters & Cocktails” Event with Mapleview Centre to help them launch their Personal Styling Program. It was located in Burlington at Station Home, in the same plaza as Holland Park Garden Gallery. I had never been to this venue before, but will definitely be going back to. It was the perfect setting for a fun-filled stylish night. We were immersed in beautiful decor and trinkets that were for sale if anything caught your eye. Upon entering the event we were welcomed and headed straight to the bar (of course). How could we not with beautiful signature sangria and cotton candy cocktails? The staff from Saving Thyme did an incredible job catering the event. They walked around with a beautiful array of appetizers as well as the delicious macarons and pumpkin cheesecake dip that was on the table (conveniently in the line for the fashion illustrations). There were also staff from Purdy’s Chocolatier dishing out the latest and greatest chocolates and everyone’s favourite Purdy’s chocolate hedgehogs.

After taking a look around at the venue, grabbing some tasty treats and admiring all the decor pieces we decided to get in line to get our fashion illustrations done. This was one thing of the night that I was most looking forward to. I was lucky enough to have got an illustration done for me ahead of time from one of the outfits I submitted for the contest. I just couldn’t resist getting another sketch done after seeing how adorable mine had turned out. Mike Hakk is one extremely talented Fashion Illustrator from Toronto and I give him so credit for hanging in there for over 2 hours doing none stop illustrations. I can’t wait to get my illustrations framed. I will definitely be following along with him and would love to have him do some more illustrations for me in the future.

(Seriously cannot get over the cuteness!)

After the excitement of getting our sketches done, we headed over to the DIY flower bouquet station. There was a huge assortment of fresh fall flowers to pick from and assemble courtesy of Blossoms of Burlington. There is nothing I love more than fresh flowers in your home, especially when you get to pick exactly how you want it to look! Thanks so much for providing the beautiful blossoms to all of us!

While we are on the subject of blooms… can we talk about this amazing flower wall? When I walked in and saw this, and, noticed that my outfit matched perfectly I knew it was going to make for a great photo okay, many photos. There was a station set up that would take your picture for you and you could email it to yourself to share on social media. I could have taken endless pictures with this wall, job well done!

While we are on the topic of my outfit matching the flower wall let me talk a little bit about the details of my outfit choice. Now while I considered going for a super fall look I’m glad I went with the outfit I did. I paired this beautiful pink Zara jacket with a floral skirt also from Zara, a basic lace-trimmed tank-top and some pretty amazing wedge heels. I kept accessories to a minimum and instead of doing my typical statement necklace, I opted for a pair of statement earrings. The pair I’m wearing are the double sided stud in silver from Obsessions Fashion. Obsessions is my go-to place for accessorizing my life, and they fit in perfectly with my affordable style. Check out their Instagram, they are always posting their newest arrivals and even hosting contests were you could win some great swag!

After being totally spoiled it just kept getting better. Caryl Baker Visage was doing get eyebrow makeovers which I think is great for everyone to get to learn how to do them and do them properly. Now while me myself didn’t get them done I was in line to get my hair braided from the lovely ladies at Clip Salon. After seeing everyone walking around with amazing on trend braids I had to get one done! With so many types to choose from I really liked the braid Krystin from Suburban Faux Pas had so they recreated one on me. I loved it so much I wanted to show it off at work the next day. It actually held in place so well and I got so many compliments on it, I think I’ll have to practice so I can do it myself.

Nearing the end of the night I got to chat with two of the winners of the personal styling program at Mapleview (@themintedmama and @thestylemogul), a huge congrats again to you two, and to @iamkhoule for taking 1st place in the contest, you go girl! I also got a chance to talk to Krystin, who is seriously the sweetest and one bad-ass fashion/travel/decor and beauty blogger. She is so knowledgable about social media and blogging and is truly inspiring. We share such a similar sense of style and I love following along on her page to see her latest finds and outfit stylings! We chatted for a while about it and she gave me some little hints on how to enlarge my audience, we even snapped a pic together- I think that got me some serious street cred in the blogger world!

Thank you so much again to Mapleview Centre and their marketing agency- Midfield Interactive for putting on one amazing event, and putting together such a great swag bag. I had such a great time and I hope to see some of those beautiful/inspiring faces again very soon!

With fall being fashion season I decided to put together some of my favourite looks. Clothes are all about expressing yourself and if you’re comfortable with yourself your style will only be elevated.

When I found out that Mapleview Centre is running a contest for a chance to win a $1,500 shopping spree and become the next Mapleview Personal Stylist, I just knew I had to jump at the opportunity and show what I was made of!

I’ve curated some of the latest trending styles that are currently available in stores near you. I hope to inspire with these looks and show you some of the trends that even I was unsure of at first and have now come to absolutely love. You will see many of my outfits are from H&M and Forever 21. These are my go-to stores for fashionable clothes that won’t break the bank (BIG STYLE, SMALL PRICE TAG!) It’s all about how you wear your clothes and carry yourself in them. One of my other fave tricks is mixing some expensive pieces with affordable pieces, you’ll have everyone fooled.

Look 1:

For my first outfit submission I went with an outfit that had me transitioning right into fall with burgundy, jean and fringe. The mid-length of this dress makes it the perfect item for fall days with a light jean jacket for cooler nights. I opted for black fringe sandals and large sunglasses to finish off the look.

Sunglasses: Quay

Jean Jacket: Winners

Dress: Old Navy

Shoes: Aldo

Look 2:

In keeping with the burgundy trend which is huge again this season, my second look is inspired by the theme of “borrowed from the boys.” Patterned pants from Old Navy are seriously my weakness, they have so many different styles and fun prints that you can’t go wrong picking up a pair (or two, or three). This pair of navy pants with burgundy and white stripes I paired with a lace blouse (to add some girly elements) and a burgundy blazer. In keeping with the theme I went for Cole Haan oxford’s that add a little different component to the regular business attire. Not to mention these shoes are seriously the most comfortable things ever!

Sunglasses: Rayban (Winners)

Blazer: Suzy Shier

Top: Ann Taylor

Pants: Old Navy

Shoes: Cole Haan

Look 3:

You can never go wrong with the cold-shoulder trend. With temperatures starting to drop, this 3/4 sleeve sheer patterned top is the perfect addition to your fall wardrobe. I paired it with dark overalls that have a slight bell-bottom to them. Now, I have to tell you that this is one trend I did not expect would make a comeback, nor did I see myself ever trying it out. When H&M released these overalls as part of their H&M X Coachella collection I was seeing a lot of celebrities in these and thought I’d try them out for myself. I was so surprised with how well they fit and the style is actually quite flattering. To keep my legs elongated (even though they’re already very long) I went for a small open-toe slip on heel. This is also a great idea so you can appreciate the beautiful bell-bottom hem on these.

Top: H&M

Overalls: H&M

Sunglasses: Rayban (Winners)

Shoes: Browns Shoes

Look 4:

This is what I call my Oktoberfest- inspired outfit. When I first picked up this dress I thought it looked kind of frumpy and wasn’t sure about the length. When I put it on and paired it with these high lace-ups it really brought the look to life. The dress is the perfect mix of comfy and stylish and can be worn much throughout the season because of its 3/4 sleeves. I’m also a huge fan of anything that has tassels on it, so I fell instantly in love with the long string tassels that added a fun element to this dress. The drop-waist really helps in avoiding a “bag” shaped dress.

Dress: H&M

Shoes: Forever 21

Sunglasses: Rayban (Winners)

Purse: Kate Spade

Look 5:

Fall florals are one of my favourite things about styling outfits during this season. This lightweight dress from H &M has the perfect essentials of mid-length, flutter shoulders, open-back and picture perfect pattern. I really love the high-neck on the dress, it’s keeping up with trends in every way. On the rack, this dress appeared to not have much shape to it but when I tried it on all that changed. I went with small black ankle-strap heels to keep the length elongated because of the long mid-length hem.

I seriously cannot get over the back of this dress. This cut-out really sold the dress for me and adds a little bit of romance that goes a long way.

Dress: H&M

Shoes: Winners

Look 6:

This look is my take on fall “sweater weather.” I took that trend and amped it up by mixing it in with another midi-dress. The ribbed knit texture of this dress, along with the striped blocking in some of fall’s hottest colours makes this dress swoon-worthy. I love the slits on the sides of the bottom of the dress and there are even ones on the arm. This dress is flattering in all the right places and I can predict this is going to be on repeat for a while. As with my last midi-dress, I paired this one with the same delicate heels to elongate my body and keep the focus on this beautiful dress.

Dress: H&M

Shoes: Winners

Look 7:

This look encompasses all the latest trends into one. From the bottom, I went with a metallic pair of slip on espadrilles (warning: metallic colours and fabrics are going to be huge this season, both in beauty and fashion!) They say distressed is best, and I couldn’t agree more when it comes to my new favourite pair of jeans. The wash of these jeans is unlike any other and the frayed cut is to die-for. These jeans have been seen on fashion bloggers and stylists all over and I can see why. This pair is meant to fit a little more loosely, which is right on cue with the slouchy trend for jeans are this season. On top, I paired my camo t-shirt (I feel like this trend is here to stay), with a bomber jacket in the same colour. The bomber jacket trend has taken off huge in fashion this season where we see celebrity style moguls like Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and the Hadid sisters to name a few who rock this
“bomb” trend out of the park. To finish off the ultimate cool-girl look I went with the never failing Rayban wayfarers.

Taking it one step further I wanted to show how you could go from day to night with this look. By simply adding a fun pair of bright coloured pumps you’re ready for a night out in a flash.

Bomber Jacket: Forever 21

Shirt: Forever 21

Jeans: Zara

Espadrilles: Payless

Pink Pumps: Winners

Sunglasses: Rayban (Winners)

Look 8:

This look was one that I had the most hesitation about. I call this the “all the bell (sleeves) and whistles” inspired trend. Again, who would have thought that bell-bottoms and bell-sleeves would make such a huge comeback in the fashion world? The delicate lace detailing on this shirt and soft mauve colour makes this trend one to reckon with. I went with light brown skinny jeans and light green boot heels. I really like the colour combo and that everything isn’t perfectly matchie-matchie, yet matches perfectly. I kept accessories simple on this one as to not take away from the beautiful details on the shirt and went with a gold chain choker necklace instead of a statement necklace or a longer chain one.

When I saw these boots the first thing I thought of was Kim Kardashian who sports similar Yeezy boots like these. The see-through yellow-tinted heels make these shoes a show-stopping item for fall!

Shirt: Forever 21

Jeans: Mango

Boots: Winners

Look 9:

I went for the monochromatic trend with this look and added some really fun tread heels! This was a fun look I wore to work and besides getting lots of “wow you’re really tall in those” comments I got a ton of compliments on how professional I looked. The navy jumpsuit and grid patterned jacket are balanced out with a small white vintage Calvin Klein belt. I couldn’t resist pairing this outfit with these shoes, surprisingly they are extremely comfortable and go with just about anything (and match my purse to boot!)

Jacket: Forever 21

Jumpsuit: Forever 21

Shoes: Forever 21

Purse: Kate Spade

Belt: Vintage Calvi Klein

Sunglasses: Quay

Why I should be Mapleview’s next Personal Stylist:

I developed my sharp eye and love for fashion at a young age, reading fashion magazines and playing dress-up. I’ve always loved following the latest trends and styling friends and family. After completing my Sociology degree and beginning my work in the court system I started to set my sights on my real passion- writing, fashion, and shopping and the like.

I started my affordable fashion blog (Staffordable_Blog) as a place where I could express myself through my love of writing and fashion and hopefully inspire others along the way.

With my strong attention to detail, exceptional interpersonal skills, and fun approach to styling I know I will be a great fit as a Mapleview Personal Stylist.